Newsletter_Febuary 2007

Welcome to Char’s Fund second newsletter. Our dear Char would have been 26 on the 5th of February.

Monies raised for the Fund have now reached £35,750 of which some £2700 has already gone directly to Muang Phuket School in Thailand to support 10 children there aged between 11 and 16 (mostly girls) on long term educational bursaries. We have received individual letters from each of the children (in Thai) and this is what 16 year-old Kachornsri Tannucroh had to say: “I deeply appreciate the scholarship you have given me and I will use it to my utmost to improve my education”.

Kachornsri comes from a broken family and lives
with her sister in rented accommodation. She has now moved on from the School and has to support herself at Phuket College where she is on a Business Studies course. We have replied to each child (in English!) to let them to know more about Char, where she came from and what she was doing in Thailand.

 

Forthcoming visit to Muang Phuket School, Thailand
Liz, Vicki and Alan will be visiting Thailand over Easter 2007 to meet the children for the first time. They were on Racha Yai for the first ‘anniversary’ (and set the whole scheme up then with the help of Garry Haplin from Raya Divers) but decided to spend last Christmas in England. The next newsletter will have news from the trip.

 

Fundraising activities in 2007
Alan and friends will be running the Reading Half Marathon again on the 25th March as well as the Windsor Half Marathon on the 30th September and would be very grateful for your sponsorship. These ‘races’ are so special as Char ran them for the first time with her ‘Pops’ in 2004. And Char’s Fund will be ‘participating’ in the Eastern Cultural Fete on the 28th May in Stedham, West Sussex. The Fete is organised by the Mudita Trust, which also supports schoolchildren in Thailand. Onionfest 2007 is currently planned for Saturday 28th July and will have a Thai theme and Char’s Fund will also have a stand at the Amazing Thailand Festival, run every two years and being held on the 25-27th August at Secrets Garden Centre in Milton, near Guildford.

 

Tsunami Support UK
Over 300,000 people died in the Asian Tsunumi in probably the largest natural disaster in recorded
history. Some 10 countries were affected and some 150 British nationals lost their lives in the Maldives,
Sri Lanka and Thailand, including Charlotte. Tsunami Support UK is a support group for UK
families and friends affected by this catastrophe with the motto, ‘never forgotten’. TSUK will be holding its annual general meeting in London on the 10th March. Please see www.tsunamisupport.co.uk.

 

Longer term plans for Char’s Fund
Although a young charity, the Trustees of Char’s Fund do have dreams – just like Char did - and with your continued generosity and kindness we would like to be able in the not too distant future to offer an occasional overseas scholarship for the young people that the fund supports to continue their studies in England. We would also like to examine the possibility of ‘twinning’ Muang Phuket School with Char’s school here in Petersfield and maybe organise exchange visits. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

The Trustees do so want the money raised to be life-changing as a fitting living memorial to Charlotte.

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